


Life with an Eggplant

by Renrentei



Category: Magi: Adventure of Sinbad (Anime), Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Dead characters are just mentioned (flashbacks etc..), F/M, Implied Relationships, M/M, May add some characters as the story progresses, Multi, Sinbad isn't a god anymore don't worry folks, Sinbad's gonna go back to Ja'far I swear, Some pairings may not show up for a while, Too bad I can't do much SinJa in this fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2019-07-28 03:29:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16233293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Renrentei/pseuds/Renrentei
Summary: Just after the battle with David and sending him to some part of unknown universe, Sinbad thought that everything was over, yet it seems like fate still had something in store for him and a new adventure awaits!Finding a naked man in your apartment wasn't an everyday sight, add in a cold in summer, just how lucky would you get? Especially if said man looks like the personification of an eggplant. A perverted and egoistic eggplant to be precise. All Hazel wants is a peaceful life, but fate doesn't give a shit about that.





	1. Beggining of a miserable life (as if it wasn't in the first place)

All he remembers was floating, his physical body was gone just after sending David somewhere far far away. No matter how twisted his previous actions were, he was not as bad as David. His consciousness was just drifting and drifting in some unknown space, time was irrelevant it could’ve been years but it was difficult to tell.

Maybe it was time for regrets, there was nothing to do after all. The faces of his generals came to mind, he had helped them in various ways, pulled them to their feet. But when they tried to give all the help back, he refused. He believed that he could take on the burden on his own, Aladdin was trying to let him realize that he was just….human.

But he had proved the blue haired magi wrong didn’t he? He broke into the sacred palace and became a god, yet where did it lead to? He just literally did mass genocide just to rebuild the world structures, he couldn’t believe how twisted he ended up. He was willing to sacrifice everyone…..kill everyone.

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself be a villain.

But everything turned out fine in the end right? He was willing to leave everything behind to stop David. His thoughts ended up in Ja’far, he knew that his advisor would be waiting, no matter how much time passes. He had always done his best to come back home to Ja’far, but this time…he doubt it could happen anytime soon.

Suddenly the atmosphere around him changed, there was some kind of pull beckoning him to a certain direction. But he paid it no heed, it had happened a lot of times and no matter how much he wanted to know what that force was he couldn’t do anything but just drift around in space. Since it was just his consciousness present he just opted to sleep, it was what he was doing for a long time anyway.

* * *

 

 Hazel woke up with a cold, a very ironic situation since it was just sunny outside. Letting out a sneeze she dragged herself out of her bed, comforter and pillows following as they plopped down the floor.

She couldn’t help but grumble, just when the last week of summer vacation rolled out, that’s when her body decided to get sick. But then again, she stared at the open window she forgot to close last night, maybe it was partly her fault.

Grabbing her phone she headed to her kitchen, which wasn’t that far really, just a few steps from her bed was a counter top lined with different utensils as a stove sat next to it. There was some leftover egg soup, which was a relief since she was feeling sluggish due to her cold.

Heating the soup up she opened her phone and decided to check her messages, but found out she had none. It didn’t surprise her, she had a small group of friends and hardly socialize on social media, if she did she would often hide her true identity and would remain anonymous.

Pouring the soup into a bowl she headed to her bed and curled up in a blanket as she scrolled down her phone, scanning through some books. She let out a sigh, she was content with this life, small apartment, minimal furniture and water that she would often fight with, it felt like home.

Finishing the soup she was about to set it in the sink when something caught her eye, her coffee table by her couch was broken, taking a closer look one of it’s legs had already given up as her laptop laid on the floor. Thankfully it was carpeted, breaking the laptop’s fall.

Sighing, she headed to her bathroom. Looks like she still needed to go out despite her cold. But that didn’t matter to her, things like this often happened in her small apartment, she was planning to buy a new showerhead soon but she didn’t have that much money for now.

Thank goodness there was water, which means her neighbour Pablo was still asleep and didn’t hoard the water for himself again. Pablo just lived above her, and lately he would hoard all the water for himself. It annoyed her to no end since there were times where she wouldn’t get the chance to bath and would always end up her being late.

Finishing her shower she headed to her closet with her hair dripping, her clothes weren’t much, just some shirts and pants and a few dresses here and there. She had grabbed anything comfortable for her condition along with a scarf, she let her hair free as she locked the door and headed out.

* * *

 

He was half asleep when he felt another unfamiliar yet at the same time familiar sensation just beneath him. He couldn’t tell what it was for his senses weren’t functioning well without a physical body.

Not only could he feel something, he somehow could hear something as well. But it was distorted and he couldn’t make up whatever he was hearing.

Wait….just how was he experiencing these things? The space where he was at had nothing, no sounds or any type of matter to begin with, so how?

 With a gasp he opened his eyes and hissed as the harsh light made him reel in shock. He couldn’t believe it! He could see, hear, feel and move once again! The sensations rushed to him and before he knew it he was gasping for air, the oxygen filling his system. Slowly he opened his eyes, looking down at his hands he tried to move them, closing and opening them, then he moved the both of his hands towards his face, he could feel the warm sensation of his skin, he traced the contours from his forehead to his chin.

It all felt so surreal that he just sat there at the floor unmoving, his eyes finally adjusted to the light and he found out he was in some kind of house (?), it was cramped and small but somehow tidy. Just behind him was a small bed, filled with quilts and pillows. Standing up he found out he was naked, which wasn’t a surprise really after all that David, Ugo fiasco. He grabbed the quilted blanket and wrapped it around himself, hopefully the owner wouldn’t mind. The quilt was warm and had a faint smell of cinnamon, he like it immediately.

He decided to look around, it was a strange place and if he looked out the window he could see some people walking or riding some sort of vehicle. Wherever he was right now, he knew he wasn’t back to his world. Aladdin had mentioned about some existing parallel universes out there and arriving there wasn’t really impossible..so maybe he was in a different world? He opted to stay wherever he was, whoever lived here didn’t seem to be home as the door was locked.

He spotted a broken table, the splinters littered around the carpet. Bending down he curiously inspected the black square thing sprawled onto the floor. It was like some sort of book as he found out it could open, a black screen and some squares lined on one side. The screen reminded him of the ones they used back in his world.

Speaking of screens, there was one big screen just in front of the couch and he wondered if it worked the same as the ones in his world. Was there magic in this world as well? There might be a possibility seeing the weird utensils around the house (?). Sitting down the couch, it creaked at his weight and for a second he thought it might break down, but after some shifts and turns the couch might be actually sturdy. The couch was also covered in quilts but this one looked faded unlike the blanket.

He contemplated on what to do, it would be dangerous to go outside since he was in an unfamiliar place, but at the same time it would be dangerous to stay. He didn’t know what type of person lived here and he was sure anyone would be surprised to find a naked man using your blanket as a cover up in your home. He wouldn’t be surprised if the authorities would be called on him.

Speaking of authorities, he wondered what kind of government ruled this land. Monarchy? Democracy? It was just like an adventure! New things to experience! Learn and feel! He couldn’t help but be giddy in excitement despite his age.

Suddenly the sound of something clicking was heard as he stood frozen on the spot, before he could even move a person revealed itself.

* * *

 

 Her breaths were short and ragged as she arrived at her front door, her headache was almost unbearable as her nose was blocked and she suspected that she had caught a flu….in summer. She wanted to bang her head against the door due to her misfortunes, but she avoided doing so. Pablo was now probably awake and would be irritated at every little noise she would do. So with some snorting here and there she opened her door, taking slow steps. The headache had not only made her head heavy but her body as well, sighing her eyes looked for the broken coffee table but for some reason she couldn’t find it.

That is until she found out it was covered by a leg draped in her blanket. She immediately looked up and almost yelped at the man before her. The man who was equally as shocked as her looked at her with wide amber eyes. Purple hair framed his face as it stood out in every direction, he stood over six feet tall and was naked except maybe for the blanket he had draped around himself to protect his nudity.

Hazel couldn’t help but feel her luck, first a flu in summer, next a naked man with features that were so out of this world had suddenly appeared in her apartment, just great!

“Alright you eggplant, where’s the cameras?” she glared at the man, tossing the products she bought and crossed her arms in front of her chest. But the eggplant of a man just tilted his head as the sunlight caught on his gold hoop earrings.

He spoke something but she couldn’t even understand what the hell was he even saying. He seemed to caught on quick as he stopped talking and placed his fingers under his chin as if thinking about something. She took it as a chance to examine the man closely as she took as step forward. Normally she would be freaking out but for some reason she was not.

The man looked like in his late twenties or thirties, his purple hair which had the gradients of actual hair reached his back and he was muscular, really muscular that she had the urge to never again use her quilted blanket which had took her years to make. She could never understand the fascination of the female gender to the muscular bodies of the male. Not that she didn’t appreciate a male’s body, she just wasn’t that crazy about them.

The man pointed to himself, grinning widely and she swore there were some sparkles around him.

“Sin-bad!” he said as she raised her brow.

“Sin-bad!” he repeated and furiously gestured to himself, that’s when everything clicked. So the guy’s name was Sinbad? As in Sinbad of the Seven seas?! She let out a chuckle as the man looked at her confused. Clearing her throat she gestured to herself and looked at the man seriously.

“Hey-zel.” She started slowly, emphasizing every syllable. “Hazel” she repeated as the man nodded.

“Hazel.” He repeated her name over and over as if testing it out.

Feeling the headache intensify she couldn’t help but be frustrated and annoyed, he still had to deal with the man which was rather hard due to their language barrier and if she would call the cops on him, what would she even say? The man didn’t look dangerous but it was always said that looks could be deceiving. And there were a lot to question about him, his hair, his eyes, where the hell did he come from and was he even human?

For now the best thing to do was to keep the man in his apartment, she had a feeling that this man wasn’t from around here judging by how he looked so interested on her microwave.

She frowned seeing how the blanket was still covering his body, she had to get him clothes but she didn’t know where, there was no way she would be asking Pablo, he wasn’t just a water hoarder he was chatterbox as well, knowing every gossip in the neighbourhood.

Having no choice she headed to her closet and started to rummage over it. She knew she had an oversized shirt somewhere and a pair of navy shorts which were way too big. Finding said items he handed it over to the eggplant who looked it curiously.

Sighing she pointed to him “You.” And pointed to her shirt and gestured her hand back and forth. “Have no clothes.” She held the clothes in front of him. “Wear these.”

Thankfully, the man seemed smart as his eyes lit up and received the clothes. She gestured to the bathroom as he nodded and headed to it.

Now with the man with her, she had a lot to worry about. Mainly what to feed him, since he had such a huge built she was sure he had a big appetite as well. Then if he was somehow lost and magically ended up in his apartment, if he was lost where did he come from? She couldn’t even recognize what language the man was speaking but if she would base his origins from his name he might be from the middle east. But that wasn’t 100% sure since some people would base their names on cultures they weren’t even part of.

A yelp made her look at the closed bathroom in worry as she hurriedly made her way over it. Upon opening the door she didn’t know if she would laugh or what as a six foot tall male seemed to be afraid.......of a showerhead. She couldn’t believe it, just where was this man for the whole of his life that he didn’t know what a showerhead was? He was probably curious and had accidentally turned it on. Sighing she went over to the shower head on the floor and picked it up, setting it on its stand. Carefully she turned the knob and made sure the eggplant would see.

“Off.” Turning it on the opposite direction “On” then she turned it off again. Reluctantly Sinbad stepped forward and tried it on his own as he looked amazed at every on and off the shower. She couldn’t help but feel like she was babysitting a man-child.

After a few minutes of him being amazed by the shower she dragged him out of the bathroom. The shirt ended up hugging his figure tightly along with the shorts, but the man didn’t seem to mind as he was now inspecting his outfit in wonder.

Deciding to leave him alone (he was an adult anyways) she headed over to her bed, relishing at the comfort of her own bed as it relieved her headache for a little.

* * *

 

 From the corner of his eyes, he noticed how the woman had plopped down her bed. Her face was flustered moments before but he thought nothing of it due to his own shock and excitement. Like the weird thing that spurt out water in tiny like holes, he wanted to ask if it run on magoi but when he tried turning the knob earlier he couldn’t feel anything except the cold metal.

“Are you alright?” he inquired but he remembered their language barrier, now he didn’t know what to do. He would owe this woman a lot and her falling sick wasn’t really a good thing to happen right now. Taking slow steps towards her, he sat down her bed as she stirred for a little bit, her green eyes was a contrast to her raven locks. The woman seemed irritated and pushed him off the bed muttering something in her own language. Just like any sensible human would do he once again went to her bed, not caring about privacy he put his hand on top of her forehead while the other was on his own.

Hazel was definitely sick, as her temperature was way higher than his. Like how his mother, Ja’far and Rurumuru thought him he moved to find any cloth and a basin. After a few minutes of rummaging through her kitchen, he didn’t find a basin but he found a bowl big enough f or the cloth, he returned to the tiled room which he assumed was a bathroom and grabbed one of the many towels decked on a shelf.

With the said items in hand he headed over her, seeing as she was already asleep he tried to not wake her as much as possible. Moving her in a suitable position, he soaked the towel in water and squeezed it out, putting the towel on her forehead. He would give her a sponge bath but he knew it wasn’t the right situation to offend her.

Now next was medicine but he didn’t know how and where to get some, even back in his own wold medicine was a hard task to find. Hazel seem to stir from her sleep as she muttered something and pointed at the nightstand just next to her. Curiously he followed and opened the shelf of the nightstand, in it lay several strange objects. A comb made of a strange shiny material, some hair ties that was also made of the same material as the comb, but what intrigued him the most were the strange metal rectangular sheets that seemed to be pocketed with pills. There were some letters inscribed on the sheet of metal but he couldn’t read them, a shiny material served as pockets for the pills as they would make a sound at every shake he would do. He handed the rectangular thing to her as she opened it with ease, popping the pill to her mouth as he rushed to get her some water. Since the place small he couldn’t help but knock things over with his built, as he rushed to catch some cups and plates here and there, he was surprised to see her standing just next to him. The towel stuck to her forehead as she grabbed the cup from his hand and poured it with water from a pitcher set on the countertop. She was saying something to him, but he couldn’t even understand what was she saying. Realizing this made her huff as she handed the cup back to him and went back to the bed.

He felt bad that she couldn’t use her blanket anymore as it was drenched in the bathroom, surely she had an extra blanket lying around? She was sick after all. No matter how hard it was to communicate, Sinbad wasn’t the type of person to give up easily, he could think of it like the time he spent with one particular tribe of Torrans who had no knowledge whatsoever of the common tongue, or when he had first encountered Torran scriptures in the dungeon. Besides, he had always heard of the saying that actions speak louder than words.

So he nudged her awake and pointed to the blanket visible from the bathroom, at first she seemed annoyed and he didn’t blame her since it was technically his fault that the blanket laid wet on what looked like a toilet, but he again pointed at it and then pointed at her as he made some shivering actions and noises. He may have looked like a fool in front of her but it was worth a shot.

Finally, like some kind of switch she let out an “Oh” which was the only thing he had understood from her besides her name. She pointed to her closet as he sent her a smile and proceeded to look for a blanket. He couldn’t help but be in awe of the cloth in this world, it looked tightly woven and sturdy too. Their textures were different too along with the style, like the too short pants he had lent her and the shirt with such sheer material it showed off his tanned skin.

He had finally found the blanket which was another quilted one, unlike the cloths this one looked genuinely handmade. Pulling it out he spread it around her as she let out a sigh as her eyes were heavily lidded, showing its color. For a moment he remembered Ja’far in his younger years, he was a frail child due to the many things his body had experienced and Sinbad would remember the many nights he would stay up just to take care of him.

Ja’far would always call out to his parents when having nightmares or when having fits due to the side effects of the many drugs and poisons that were injected to his system, he remembered the agony of just staying there beside him, not able to do anything but hold his hand and hope that it would be over soon.

Suddenly a pressure was felt on his forearm and he was back with Hazel, the said woman was looking at him with furrowed brows, he blinked and gave her a sheepish smile. She let out an exhale, pointing at him then gesturing to the floor, as if telling him to stay put. She pointed to the door, windows and bathroom and wagged her finger back and forth. He nodded, understanding the meaning behind her actions, casting him one last glare she turned around and buried herself under the covers.

Sinbad sat on the floor and couldn’t help but grin to himself.

Looks like an adventure awaits once more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chicken soup and Worldwide problems

Hazel realized that taking care of a human being was not easy at all, just how did those commercials make it seem so easy? A rich and baritone laughter filled her apartment as she watched the eggplant who seemed to be very entertained with her phone. He was now wearing a looser shirt and pajama pants (courtesy of Pablo’s clothing line), his hair was scattered all along her carpet and she wondered just how did he even manage such hair.

Now she couldn’t steal clothes forever and feeding the man was making her wallet lighter faster than expected.

And again she wasn’t really sure on what to do with him, if he continued to stay with her then she might need to cut some expenses just for the two of them. She told herself to keep the man for the time being but right now she started to realize just how hard it was to take care of an adult.

She sipped on her coffee as she let out a sigh, Sinbad surprisingly made sure that her sickness would go down quickly and maybe that was one of the reasons she would let him stay…for a while at least.

“Sinbad” she called out as the said man’s attention was caught, she held out a hand as the man pouted. Lately he had become fond of playing that one game (Helix Jump?) on her phone, she had taught him to operate most of the appliances around her home (which involved a lot of patience and yelling). Honestly she was really (VERY) curious on where he came from when she caught him playing with the fridge, trying to see if the light would still be on if he closed the fridge’s door very slowly, or trying to balance the switch of the light. (She used to do the same things…..as a CHILD)

Reluctantly he handed her the phone and she wanted to hit the eggplant seeing the battery percentage of her phone. If she remembered clearly she had handed her phone to him at 100%, just how did he manage to make it 18% at just an hour?!

“Sinbad!” she yelled at him, due to their language barrier they both depended on the tone of each other’s voice whenever they said each other’s name.

The man just sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and laughed, somehow the man’s laugh or smile would melt her anger away. Which just makes her more infuriated by him. Instead of venting out her anger she just let out a sigh, not like she could do anything.

She made her own bed, now she would have to lie on it.

She glanced at her calendar, she would have to start working tomorrow. Everything was already set but she still had to think of the eggplant who was now scribbling on one of the many notebooks littered across the living room. They had tried communicating through writing but they found out they couldn’t even understand each other’s words. So other than the tone of their voices, she would rely on his sketches or doodles on paper as she would do the same.

She was worried something might happen if he was left alone, bringing him to work was an option but it was a very risky one. Who knows what the eggplant would do? If she guessed correctly he had never stepped foot out of the house.

“Hazel!” his voice snapped her from her thoughts as she moved her gaze to him, he was holding up a paper and waving it around. Looking closely, it was a doodle of a bowl with some kind of yellowish contents, the crayons she had given her was obviously used for colouring and honestly he looked like a man-child with the many crayons and pencils littered around him.

“You’re hungry again?” she asked with an exasperated tone, the man’s appetite just never seem to cease.

Not like she could blame him, their portions of food wasn’t exactly suited for their needs. Looks like she really needed that part time job one of her pesky neighbour was offering her.

She walked to her kitchen, preparing the ingredients for some chicken egg soup which for some reason he was very fond of.

* * *

Sinbad watched as Hazel started preparing his meal, he couldn’t help but stare at those green eyes. It looked too similar to a certain person, even their attitudes were scarily alike.

It had been almost a week of him arriving in this strange place, he had learned a lot too thanks to Hazel teaching him. However he felt bad on freeloading on her, he did try helping out on many occasions but those ‘e-lek-tro-niks’ or ‘apla-yan-ses’ as she called it was sometimes hard and confusing to operate, and it just a short amount of time he learned just how short her patience could be.

But the most troubling part was the absence of the rukh and especially magoi, almost everything around the place was ran by electricity which baffled him, after all, all he ever used electricity for was when attacking his opponents with Baal.

He stared at his surroundings, not a single speck of those glowing butterflies, for the first time in his life fate was not visible to his eyes.

His hand found its way to the ‘bol-pen’, which was way more practical than a quill since you didn’t have to dip it into a pot of ink frequently. He ran his thumb through the smooth paper and before he knew it, he was once again drawing.

It had become a past time for him and Hazel appreciated some of his works, going as far as hanging it on the ‘re-fri-gi-ray-tor’.

He appreciated how the ink wouldn’t bleed on the paper, nor was it messy. His hands moved as his mind drifted somewhere, the smell the sea and the warmth of the sun invaded his mind as the chanting of his name was faintly heard at the distance.

“Sinbad.”

He was back to reality, Hazel was looking at him with furrowed brows, stepping closer she gasped as he looked down at the paper.

He had drawn Maharajan, the southern sea creature was in full view as him and his generals were standing at a distance. He put the pen and paper aside as a torrent of emotions could be felt that he had the urge to clutch his head and crouch into a ball.

His mental health wasn’t the most stable of things.

But a hand was on his shoulder as a bowl of soup was presented at him. The woman was saying something but of course he couldn’t understand, yet just seeing those green eyes with a hint of worry he couldn’t help but see an entirely different person in her place.

Green keffiyeh, typical Sindrian robes along with pale skin dotted with freckles….a comforting voice and a warm hand. Those pale lips smiled at him, shouted at him and even screamed bloody murder yet…it was all too beautiful.

“Hey”

He closed his eyes, Hazel wasn’t Ja’far, he knew that.

Instead he gave her a usual carefree smile as she sighed and rolled her eyes serving him the soup eventually as she walked to her closet.

He smiled at the soup, its fragrance enticing him to just gobble it up, truly his age didn’t suit his antics. It tasted delicious too and he couldn’t comprehend why such a simple meal was so delicious.

A melody was heard as he turned his head, Hazel was sitting on her bed and playing the ‘yu-ke-le-le’, a stringed musical instrument. 

**You're just too good to be true**

**I can't take my eyes off you**

  
**You'd be like heaven to touch**

  
**I wanna hold you so much**

  
**At long last love has arrived**

  
**And I thank God I'm alive**

  
**You're just too good to be true**

  
**Can't take my eyes off you**

 Though her voice could never compare to Pisti, it was decent enough as he clapped. Now that he thought about it, did she have any companions? Spending a week in her house, he wasn’t used to how quiet or small it was. He wondered if Hazel had any human interaction besides their (yes he considered it his home now) annoying neighbour just above.

He finished the rest of his soup, spotting the sink full of dishes he proceeded to stand and wash them. Though the house was small, it required a handful of chores to keep it clean, he didn’t mind cleaning or washing, it reminded him of his youth at Tison. Since her mother was too weak to even move, he was the one who would often try and maintain their rundown shack.

And the fact that he was freeloading on Hazel, he figured it was the least he could do.

* * *

She stared at Sinbad as the man began to wash the dishes, it was kind of a surprise that the man had the initiative to do the cleaning. She didn’t mind, after all Sinbad was a fast worker.

She couldn’t help but stare at the inky mass of purple running down his back, it looked so soft and silky and she had the urge to run her hands all over it, and his hair suited him too. Kind of like those weird Japanese cartoons, what were they called again? Anime?

She stood up from her bed, spotting the mini mess that he had done on the coffee table, she gathered the crayons and pencils when she felt something underneath her foot. Moving her foot, she found out it was the sketch he had made earlier. Though she had seen it earlier, he couldn’t help but admire the picture he had just sketched in minutes.

Her eyes moved to the several papers hanging by the fridge, she never expected Sinbad had such talent but she noticed how different his recent piece of work was compared to the others. Sinbad often sketched sceneries, often of forests, beaches or even cities that looked ancient from modern ones, however, it was the first time Sinbad had drawn people, or living things. It wasn’t that detailed but, the persons seem to be the focus of the picture and not the sea monster rising from the sea.

That’s when she noticed the person at the center of them all, he was wearing long robes along with a turban decorated with feathers, the face wasn’t sketched but he recognized the long mane of dark hair attached to the person.

She didn’t want to assume but those hoop earrings were definitely the same. However, why would Sinbad draw himself in such a fantasy like situation?

Her eyes went back to Sinbad, spending just a short time with him, she could tell that the man had such a complex personality, and she couldn’t help but be puzzled further.

* * *

The heat in the west was much more harsher than that of the east, even when wearing just a simple white robe that often served as an undergarment, he could feel his temperature rise in just a span of a few minutes. Even the parasol that his escorts provided for him was no use against the harsh sun of Reim.

“My brother and king, would it be better for us to rest for a while? You don’t seem to be faring well.”

He shook his head, really Kouemei’s big change was sometimes a surprise for him. Even when decked in his rich robes, he seemed fine. It must be his age catching up to him. Besides, even with his condition he still had a lot to contribute to his country.

“Are you really all right, Kouen-niisama?” Kougyoku asked, like Koumei she was decked in royal garments, complete with the traditional crown as she looked at him worried. Due to the drastic change of the world’s terrain, it was difficult to use chariots and the least they could use were magic carpets. But Kougyoku wanted to take a look of Reim by herself, being the protective brothers they were, they couldn’t let their sister off alone.

Not now after leaving the burden of governing a whole country on her own. Really, the fact that he was indebted to that Balbbad brat left a rather unpleasant feeling, but he was thankful of him nonetheless. If not for him, who knows what could’ve happened to Kou?

The commoners stared at them in awe as a nostalgic feeling swept over him, he could remember the faces of the people whenever he would lead a successful campaign however those looks were a mix of fear and awe. Not like the looks he was receiving at the moment.

The ‘Sacerdos Maxima’ as Reim called it was seen as several Reim soldiers greeted their entourage, there was no hostility as Kougyoku smiled and Koumei gave a bow as a sign of greeting and respect. It had already been a year since ‘that’ incident occurred but he still wasn’t used to how friendly everyone was becoming.

Like most of Reim’s architecture, the temple was composed of marble columns as sceneries of the three magis were carved onto the marble walls. Their footsteps echoed through the temple’s corridors as they were lead in front of wooden double doors, even with the doors closed they could hear the several shouts and chattering of the occupants of the room.

A Reim soldier gave a knock as the noise was silenced, the double doors were pushed open as several pairs of eyes were trained at their direction.

“Uncle Kouen!” the cheery voice of the blue haired magi (former) greeted him as several gasps from the people of his side was heard.

“H-How dare you call him such a thing?!” Kougyoku immediately reacted as Koumei just hid his displeasure through his fan, using it to cover half of his face.

“Aladdin! Stop causing trouble!” an irate voice stood out as his mouth twitched a bit. The Balbbad brat who had changed greatly ever since was looking at his friend in annoyance as he stood at the end of the long table where several representatives of selected countries were present.

The entire seven seas alliance were present along with Kou, Reim and Kina.

“Please take a seat.” The blonde said when things settled down. Their seat was located just next to the finalis captain and Reim’s priest, the finalis smiled at their arrival and even offered to help him sit down. But he declined, despite his condition, he still had his dignity.

“I’ll be frank.” Alibaba started as his wife held his hand in reassurance while the vizier of Sindria was on his other side, despite the yeas the man just seemed to turn younger and younger.

“This summit isn’t made to discuss borders or alliances or anything that is deeply related to politics.”

Alibaba faced them all, his eyes burning with determination just like that time at the medium or ‘that incident. He truly did suit his djinn.

The silence was tense, as if the blonde was giving out a verdict on what their fates would be.

“We’re bringing Sinbad back.”

The whole room was a mix of reactions, shouts, gasps and chattering was once again heard as the booming voice of the finalis captain silenced them all.

“What do you mean Alibaba?” the usual cheery atmosphere of the man had morphed into a more serious one.

This time it was Aladdin who spoke.

“Ever since ‘that’ incident, the world has changed. Not just the terrain but the metal vessels and dungeons that used to be such a huge impact to the world is gone. The magi system was abolished and even the rukh has changed. “

Everyone murmured amongst themselves except for him, he opted to stay quiet and just observe for the time being.

“Its exactly as Aladdin says, fate is now in our hands, which means its up to us to make the world move forward. And I believe that Sinbad’s presence is necessary!”

Displeasure was probably seen on his face, but it wasn’t only him. Muu and the emperor of Kina were wearing similar faces.

“Sinbad’s presence is necessary you say?” Takerihiku started as the attention was directed at him. “Did you forget what that man tried to do?”

More silence as the two youths didn’t seem to give up on their objective.

“Even so, Sinbad himself did many great feats. Let’s not forget that without his help then the medium wouldn’t be defeated.”

“And my country would not be saved”

“And I wouldn’t be crowned king”

“And I wouldn’t be accepted”

“And I wouldn’t have a home to return to.”

Several statements was heard as he balled his hands into fists. Even with him gone, people would still admire and take his side. But how could he forgive the man that hurt his own family? That almost destroyed his country?

“I object”

Everyone’s attention was directed at him, waiting for an explanation but he gave them none. Aladdin and Alibaba for once didn’t contradict his statement. They knew all too well of the things the man did to his family.

“For as long as I’ve met him, I knew that Sinbad was a sly and cunning person.” The pale haired advisor started as the elders in the room seem to know what he was talking about.

“He was not merciful to Kou or to anything he considers a threat to Sindria or in achieving his objectives. But…I ask of you to give him a second chance.”

He glared at the advisor but there was no harsh glare returned. Instead, he found sorrowful eyes, along with hurt and anger.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the song  
> Shout out @karmalakabane for the comment :)


	3. New Roommate More Troubles

Kouen grimaced, moving around too much was not a good thing for his body, especially with his condition. His eyes trailed to the marble foundations of the room he was assigned with, curtains of blue and gold were draped against the columns and walls. The bed he sat at was of finest silks and satins, its softness comparable to the one’s at Kou as several cushions was littered all around it.

His mind went back to the events from earlier, his frown deepened.

_“I ask of you to give him a second chance.”_

_He glared at the advisor but there was no harsh glare returned. Instead, he found sorrowful eyes, along with hurt and anger._

_Just by that look, he could tell that bringing Sinbad back was just a personal motive. He could tell that his anger might show, but years of fighting in court had him at complete control of his emotions, making his façade an almost invincible wall._

_“Vizier, tell me, did that man even give us a second chance? He knew too well of the destruction that would befall on Kou, even helped for it to happen. Do you think I would let a person who had caused my family great pain to be brought back?”_

_His words were careless as several looks of displeasure was directed at his way._

_“First prince, you’re one to talk. Have you forgotten what your country has done to your former vassal states?” The Heliohaptan King spoke up, the tension was getting higher._

_“Master..”_

_“Please don’t bring unnecessary matters in this discussion. At this rate we won’t understand each other.” Koumei spoke up, but from the way he was gripping his hand, even he was affected. Kougyoku had her head down, her face invisible to all of them._

_“Even I object.” Came the finalis’s booming voice as Aladdin and Alibaba looked at him surprised._

_“M-Muu?!”_

_The priest of Reim didn’t seem to stop the finalis as even some looked at him, as if expecting a final answer._

_“Such a deed could not be erased no matter how much good he would do. Let’s not all forget that he took control of our will and tried getting us into killing ourselves.”_

* * *

The meeting was in even more chaos after that, he opted to just leave, who would listen to him anyways? He was known as the conqueror of Kou and he knew that despite of their agreements on non-aggression there were still others wary of him.

Even if the title of first prince was brought back to him, it was useless. He was crippled, he had to depend on his cane to just stand and he could feel his body slowly breaking down. A secret he had kept from the others, he didn’t want them to worry, not now that they were having a clean start.

A knock was heard, before he could even permit the person to enter, the door was slowly opened, revealing the finalis captain. As much as he was annoyed by his sudden presence, he didn’t have any power over him as the finalis was at his home country.

“Did you need something?” he greeted, cursing the guard posted by the door. He wasn’t really in the mood to entertain anybody, let alone a man like Muu.

“You left the meeting rather early, your siblings were worried so I took the initiative to check up on you.” He couldn’t tell if the man was lying with that casual face, he couldn’t help but think that the man had another motive.

“Is that really it?” he asked with a glare as the man invited himself over, his hands searched for his sword, the former vessel of Phenex strapped to his waist.

“Now now, no need for that. Do you see me holding any weapons?” he almost forgot how keen finalis’s senses were and true to his word Muu was just wearing toga, no armour or weapon in sight. But he was always thought that appearances could be deceiving.

“What do you want?” he asked as the man wasn’t affected by the glare he’d been giving for the past minutes. Muu tilted his head as he made his way over to a couch.

“Me? Nothing. I just want to chat, Kougyoku used to always mention you, you know. Of course I’ve heard stories and I didn’t have the chance to talk properly to you, its always different when it comes to the real thing.” He smiled at him as his frown lessened.

It wasn’t the first time someone tried to befriend him, but of course with the things going on in the past he had pushed them all away. As part of royalty, assassination attempts were common along with a handful of schemes.

But right now, he wasn’t that important, his title was useless and his siblings seem to not need his guidance these days.

But still, he had always doubted the sincerity of other people besides his siblings. He was a man who was always at his guard.

“You’re wary of me aren’t you?”

He hid his surprise, watching Muu lean down on the couch.

“I don’t blame you, though it has already been a year, even I am not used to the drastic changes that has happened.”

He studied the man, even if they were close at age he seemed several years younger than him. His body healthy and his smile wasn’t strained.

Before he knew it a flurry of coughs had hit him as he tried to suppress it, Muu immediately tried giving him a glass of water but he had knocked it over.

Muu’s voice along with others could be heard but his head was too light, yet his body too heavy as his chest was burning. He looked at his hand that he had used to cover his mouth with, it was wet and full of blood as it dripped down his robes.

The sight of Muu looking at him concerned was the last scene he had seen before passing out.

* * *

She hadn’t been through half of the day yet but she was restless, who knew what that eggplant would be doing right now? What if she came home with the apartment trashed, or worse..burned to the ground?

She hit her head against the desk, she was overthinking things too much. Surely that eggplant knew how to be an adult right?

“Ma’am?” a timid voice called out as she immediately raised her head only to be greeted by a student. Putting on her usual smile she entertained the student. Being a teacher wasn’t an easy job but she loved teaching and seeing the satisfied faces of her students was a pleasing sight.

“Alright kids! Break time!” just in time for the recess bell to ring as her students all squealed in glee and rushed out of the room. Leaving her in her thoughts as scenarios of burning apartments invaded her mind.

A knock interrupted her thoughts as she looked at the direction of the door, standing by it was a co-worker of hers. Also a teacher except he handled the neighbouring section.

Daren was just as tall as her, his long coppery hair was tied in a bun, his ice blue eyes were a contrast to his hair. His skin was paler than hers dotted with freckles.

“What is it?” she asked as Daren entered the classroom, he was as usual looking shy and timid as ever.

“Actually I have a favor to ask.” He seemed hesitant as she raised a brow, wondering what her friend wanted.

“Well?”

“Can I stay for a while at your apartment? Please! I’ll do anything in return! Clean, cook, anything!” she was surprised by her friend’s outburst.

“Woah! Woah! Back up! What do you mean?” she was concerned, he looked desperate with tears at the corner of his eyes.

“I was kicked out..”

“What?!” she shouted, not out of disbelief but more at annoyance as she still had a lot of questions.

“My brother just came last week it was the wise decision of my mother to give him my room. Now I have nowhere to stay at, I’ve tried looking but they aren’t cheap…”

She couldn’t help but slap her forehead, Daren’s mother wasn’t the best at her job. She was always prone to favouritism, often favouring her other sons who earned more. Daren has the least earnings out of his other brothers causing his mother to not care about him at all.

She wanted to help her friend but her thoughts drifted to the eggplant at home, not that her unit couldn’t cover them three she just didn’t know what to tell Daren of the eggplant.

“Alright you can move in but I have an extra person at home.” He tilted his head, his brows furrowed.

“Are you sure? Who is this person anyway?”

She bit her lip, she couldn’t say that he just appeared out of nowhere. That would sound weird and suspicious.

“You’ll see.” She assured as the bell rung indicating the end of recess.

Now just what would she tell him when they would arrive at home?

* * *

 

 Coming home to someone was a strange feeling, it had been a long time since she had any companions. She preferred to be alone since she didn’t have to worry much about the other person.

She didn’t know what to expect as she walked the cobblestone streets, her high heels clacking against the stone. Daren was just next to her, and had been questioning about the extra person they had to share the unit with. Daren was anxious and nervous about meeting the person since she had mentioned that the eggplant was male.

Finally they arrived at her doorstep and she was relieved to see the porch light on, along with the light on the inside.

“This may sound really ominous but please don’t freak out when you see him.” Really she wasn’t helping her friend’s anxiety at all.

Daren nodded slowly as she turned around, unlocking the many locks her door had. Slowly she swung the door open and poked her head in.

Thankfully the place looked the same as ever, no fires or anything than could trash it. Her eyes darted all over the place, looking for that familiar head of purple. Her heart beat quickened seeing none as she swung the door open with force, startling Daren. Just in time for her to hear the sound of something falling as she peered at the living room.

“Sinbad.” She said in relief as he was on the floor looking groggy as ever.

“Ummm Hazel….why is he naked?” she fumed, yes she knew of his antics when sleeping, which was why she had provided him a LOT of blankets, because really seeing that rear end countless of times she had to stop herself from soaking her eyes in vinegar.

“SINBAD!” she shouted as the eggplant jumped a bit, slowly looking at her direction. She quickly grabbed his blankets on the corner and furiously threw it at him.

“GO FUKING CHANGE!” though she knew he couldn’t understand, her tone and finger pointing to the bathroom was enough as he gave her another sheepish smile, walking to the bathroom.

Then he faced Daren who flinched at her enraged face.

“You said you’ll do anything right?” she asked rather intensely as Daren squeaked out a ‘yes Ma’am ’.

“You’re in charge of his clothes, which means you buy him whatever he needs and let it stay at his body. If not, you two could sleep at the streets.”

As much as she didn’t want to frighten her friend, her patience was running thin for the umpteenth time this week. She was sure this wasn’t good for the health.

* * *

Muu stared at the sleeping figure of the red haired prince, his face as usual on guard, his wrinkles prominent. Looking at him like this, Muu couldn’t believe how the ‘Flame Emperor’ was reduced to such a state. Gone was the man in rich robes and shining armor he had met at the battle of the medium or the summit.

The prince was just dressed in a simple white robe, no accessories except his sword and cane. But the man still radiated power despite his condition as he stared at the prosthetics that covered three of his limbs.

“Hakuyuu.” He murmured, the prince had been murmuring the name for the past hour as if some kind of mantra.

“I’m sorry” along with the apologies, he had notified Sphintus about the prince’s condition but after examining him the Heliohaptan healer didn’t tell him any details. Saying that he shouldn’t tell anyone of what happened to the prince and that worried him.

The man was clearly a pillar of support to Kou, crippled or not and he could tell how much he loved his family.

So far he had kept the guard’s mouth shut, Sphintus had mentioned about the prince keeping his illness as a secret as it had already spread throughout his body. So Muu honoured the man and kept the secret for now.

He put a hand on the prince’s forehead, it was once again hot as he sighed, placing the damp cloth on his forehead. He had tried keeping his fever down as what Sphintus instructed but it proved to be difficult as his fever just seemed to rise up and down randomly.

Actually, the finalis didn’t know why he had suddenly took an interest to the prince, he was sure it wasn’t just because they didn’t agree on getting Sinbad back. Just like he said, Kougyoku would often mention him, how glorious he was in battle or how clever he was in political issues along with how he was the one of the few that had pushed her into conquering the dungeon.

Not only Kougyoku but he couldn’t miss the honorific the second prince would use in addressing him. ‘My brother and king’ sounded odd and long but the second prince would always use it when referring to the older man.

It was strange, he used to regard Kou as an enemy ever since that medium incident. But as time passed, it wasn’t Kou he regarded as the enemy, but it was Kouen himself. He had heard of the man’s successful conquests on the eastern continent and even he knew it was a matter of time before they would either attack Magnoshuttat or Reim ever since news of Balbadd’s downfall had reached him.

But looking at the red haired prince, Muu can only see him as a normal person. Not a dungeon capturer, not a general or even a prince.

Kouen just looked normal, and he liked that.

* * *

He stared at the man Hazel had brought over, long red hair, green eyes and pale skin dusted with freckles. Now with man’s hair down, he sometimes wondered if Daren was really male.

But who was he to judge? If he remembered, Titus, Reim’s priest looked female but was biologically male.

He couldn’t help but be envious on how Daren and Hazel understood each other completely and more importantly, what was his relation to Hazel? The two seemed close as they had been talking to each other ever since they’ve arrived, Hazel who was still mad at him wasn’t probably explaining things soon as she had ignored all his attempts on catching her attention.

He didn’t know the cultures of this world but surely a woman bringing a man home had some kind meaning to it , right?

But then again, Hazel didn’t seem to mind living with him, so maybe it was different in this world?

A tap on his shoulder as he was snapped back to reality, Daren was for some reason in front of him, holding out a piece of paper. It looked like Hazel had already informed him of the circumstance as there was a doodle of food on the paper, indicating that it was dinner.

He nodded as the shorter man lead him to the living room, the coffee table (which he had fixed) also served as a dining table as several paper bowls were littered on top of it. He was surprised on seeing noodles, one of Kou’s and Kina’s staple dishes. Who knew it existed on this world as well?

His excitement took over as he happily accepted the bowl Daren had handed him, he took a bite but grimaced inwardly, he had to remind himself of the excessive use of salt they used on this world. Hazel had called those multi-colored powder ‘vet-sin’ and he guessed it was some kind of flavouring like spices, problem was it often made the dish salty.

But he made no complaints as he finished his meal, now that he thought about it, was Hazel from work just now? It was the only reason he could think off since Hazel didn’t seem to be the social type and she hardly stepped out for the whole week he had arrived.

“Sinbad”

His eyes widened a bit hearing Hazel finally address him as she dumped the rest of her food on his bowl. Yes he was still hungry but Hazel didn’t have to sacrifice her food just for him.

“Hazel!” he called out but it was as if she didn’t hear a thing and proceeded to leave the area. He called out once more as she collapsed on her bed, her eyes moved to his direction, the glare she gave him made him shut up immediately.

 

 


	4. Death and Shopping

For once (and finally) Sinbad was allowed out of the house. Though his limit was only within Hazel’s yard, it was enough for the man as he stared at the busy street. Unlike back at his world, though the place was bustling, it was more organized. Instead of the many stalls he was accustomed to, the street was lined with tall skyscrapers, as people and one of those advanced vehicles that made a lot of noise passed the street.

Wood was hardly present as metal and glass was everywhere, it reminded him of his headquarters back at Parthevia, though this place was more organized, it almost had the same things his company had invented. Tall skyscrapers, communication devices along with those wide screens with moving pictures.

He was too busy staring at his surroundings that he almost forgot the only reason why Hazel let him out of the house, the basket he held at his waist almost slipped off as he was brought back. Sighing a bit, he proceeded to move, the warm sensation of the sun against his skin was a welcoming feeling.

Yesterday was laundry day, so right now Sinbad was tasked on collecting any dried off laundry while Hazel and Daren was cleaning on the inside of the house. As the pile in the basket was increasing, he couldn’t help but laugh a bit of the circumstance he was in, he couldn’t even remember the last he did his own laundry, nor could he remember the last time he had such a simple life.

Being King meant living in splendor, his every need and wants taken care of. Things like laundry, food and cleaning were trivial matters to him.

Yet, he couldn’t help but enjoy the life he had. Sure Hazel wasn’t the kindest of women, food was never enough for them, water had to be fought with along with the way how small their space was.

Maybe he was just too used with extraordinary to not appreciate the ordinary.

He patted the fresh laundry, assorted cloths in piles gave off a pleasant aroma. Though he knew Hazel might throw a fit with him taking too long, he just couldn’t take his eyes off his surroundings.

There was no sign of conflict, things were organized and people gave each other small waves and nods. He stared at those strange vehicles, faster than the average magic item, the ‘trains’ could be compared to a dungeon capturer’s speed and he couldn’t even imagine just how fast goods could be transferred in such a method.

He wondered, if he had managed to stay a little longer…would things look the same in his own world? He, the so called ‘World Innovator’, would he manage such a thing?

“Sinbad!” Hazel’s voice brought him back as he turned his head, expecting the woman to have a frown on her face.

She was leaning at the door frame, a slight smile on her features as she gestured for him to go back inside. Since he was done collecting the laundry he followed, the smell of something cooking greeted him as he stepped inside.

Daren was busy with cooking, actually the man was in charge of food. Unlike Hazel, the man’s diet was something that Sinbad preferred, mostly because it reminded him of his world. Hazel’s cooking, though was not bad, it was just too salty for his taste. Processed food was popular in this world yet he still preferred the traditional way.

He laid the basket down as Hazel moved them to another spot, probably for later (or until Sinbad reminded her of it, the woman tends to forget things easily), he felt a tug on his hair and looked down. Hazel was playing with some strands, braiding them and unbraiding them all over. Hazel’s fascination to his hair was always obvious, in fact she wasn’t the first one. She would often play hairdresser in her free time, styling his hair into different ways until she grew tired. Sinbad enjoyed the attention she poured into his hair, not only was it amusing but seeing Hazel smile at least a few times was a good feeling.

The woman was most of the time serious, her face was often blank or in a scowl. Though he never asked what was her occupation (communication reasons) as she would spend countless nights burning the midnight oil, always going over papers or working at her ‘lap-tap’. And when she came home after work she always looked haggard, always collapsing on her bed as he would have the initiative to cook dinner. (though with Daren around, things seem easier for the both of them)

She was saying something again and for the hundredth time he wished he could understand her, when she was too lazy to write she would often speak to him, not caring if they understood each other, he had picked a few of her vocabulary, but not enough that he could construct a sentence. The least he could do is point out some things and try to remember what they were called.

“Hazel, just look at how short you are.” It had been a long time since he had said a full sentence in his language, Hazel raised a brow and said something in her language.

Both of them knew they were insulting each other, not only by the tone but by their facial expressions.

“You’re always mad”

“Your cooking can never compare to Daren.”

“Bad memory.”

“Always frowning, you’ll get wrinkles at that rate.”

One after another the sentences came out as she in turn would do the same. For a while the insults ran on until the both of them stopped, staring at each other for a few moments before the both of them burst out in laughter. Maybe he was the only one who burst out, Hazel was just chuckling behind her curled palm.

* * *

 

 She stared at the man laughing in front of her, during his stay she noticed some things about him. First was his smile, no matter what the man was always smiling, in fact she couldn’t even remember a day that the man hadn’t smiled at least once. Second was how free spirited he was, he was restless, always moving, and she couldn’t miss the looks he would throw outside, as much as she wanted him to also try to stretch his legs out, she couldn’t find time to do so. She couldn’t trust the man to be by himself and preferred to accompany him in case anything happened. Third was how he had a certain charm to him, drawing people automatically to him, Daren automatically liked him and didn’t waste any time on trying to communicate with him, teaching each other. Which was a really rare action of Daren, knowing how shy the man could become.

“Sinbad! Hazel! Lunch is ready!” Daren called out to the both, hearing his name Sinbad perked up as he pulled Hazel up.

“Eat!” he said as her eyes widened, surprised at how he managed to say a word in her language.

“Did you teach him that?” she asked Daren as they all crowded at the couch. Daren nodded happily as he ate his stir fried rice.

“Yup! I figured the easiest words to teach him were the ones he would do always.”  She hummed in response, serving herself some rice as she leaned back into the couch, in between the two men. She admits that having Daren around made things easier than she expected, at least she didn’t have to worry about food all the time, plus he seemed to know Sinbad’s favorites.

“By the way since we have free time, why don’t we take Sinbad out? We could shop for clothes too.” Sinbad looked at them at the mention of his name, his face in anticipation.

“Hmm, sounds like a plan, I call dibs on the shrimp.” Plucking out the last of Sinbad’s shrimp before scurrying away with a laugh as Sinbad let out a yelp. Chuckling, Daren placed one of his shrimps onto Sinbad’s bowl.

“Daren!” Sinbad looked at him like he was his savior.

* * *

Kouen woke up to a raspy throat which resulted to a flurry of coughs. His vision blurry as he tried to make out the blob of color above him.

“My brother and King!” something was cold was pressed onto his lips as water was forced into his system, something bitter followed afterwards. His vision seemed to clear instantly as two men were above him, one was Koumei his eyes full of worry and the other was the Heliohaptan healer, his face into a grimace.

Leaning back, the tanned male went over to the nightstand, mixing herbs into a bowl as he muttered a spell.

“His body is pretty sturdy for his age.” He commented, probably to ease some of Koumei’s worries but Kouen knew that the healer was hiding something.

“Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to have you come here, I’ll prepare an escort right away-“

“Koumei, go to Kougyoku…..she needs you more than me.” Both siblings didn’t expect his clipped used of words, but Koumei who could never go against him only sighed and relented. Koumei however hesitated, his hand slowly patted his shoulder.

“Please call me if you need anything………….brother.”

Kouen let out a small smile, it had been a long time since Koumei had addressed him as such. It had been a long time since any of his sibling called him that. Now with no political problems to worry about, perhaps he should work on fixing his relationship with his siblings.

“Lord Kouen..” his eyes snapped up to the healer, in his arms was some strange concoction. “How long were you hiding this?”

He let out a breath as he tried to sit up, the healer helping him. He looked down at his own hands, scarred and calloused from countless of battles.

“For as long as I could…”

The healer looked at him with a complicated face, it wasn’t pity nor sympathy. He handed the prince the concoction as the prince grimaced on how it looked but drank it anyway, almost choking at the bitter taste.

“You’ll be drinking that a least three times a day……it’ll slow the effects of your ‘sickness’ for a while. But as you take it more frequently, the medicine’s effectiveness would dwindle down too.”  

“How long?”

“A couple months at most.”

The prince closed his eyes, he was never the type to be afraid of death, he’d been in war for the most of his life that he could remember the numerous times he’d stopped by death’s door. It was an expected result of war. But what he was afraid off was passing away with regrets, regrets on not accomplishing the things he was supposed to do.

His eyes went back to the healer, he didn’t know why was the young man hiding his condition, even going as far as prescribing him medicine. He didn’t know if the young man would ask for something in return but for now, in a very long time, he felt thankful.

“Thank you.”

The Heliohaptan looked up from what he was doing, grounding another batch of medicine, as he frowned.

“Don’t thank me yet, who knows how long you’ll last.”

* * *

She sighed, looking at her almost empty wallet as she could hear the annoying laugh just close to her. She had the urge to hit him but they were in public and really she couldn’t do anything from all the stares they had been receiving.

Yes she knew that Sinbad looked out of the ordinary but, she just didn’t anticipate it would garner so much attention. She and Daren tried their best on trying to conceal Sinbad’s exotic looks, making him wear a bonnet to conceal his purple mane, giving him a pair of shades to cover those strikingly amber eyes, yet to no avail things just weren’t working out.

Sinbad seemed used to the attention, enjoyed it even as he would wave to people from time to time.

“Stop that!” she hissed, putting down Sinbad’s hand for the umpteenth time as the man would just looked at her clueless. Daren however would crack up whenever she did it.

She told herself to go easy on the eggplant, after all being so cooped up for so long in her apartment, Sinbad didn’t know what the outside world looked, so she couldn’t blame him if he was excited. Yet she just couldn’t help but be uncomfortable from all the attention.

Now being a teacher, public attention wasn’t new to her but it was different when she was out of her job, it was different without all the make-up and clothes. She admits that the reason she felt uncomfortable was because she felt inferior next to the two men. Sinbad and Daren are handsome looking men, they don’t even need to try to look good, they were just born with it. While she had to spend hours in front of a mirror just to look presentable.

Her eyes looked at Sinbad, trying to converse with Daren who was randomly pointing to objects and stating their names. His purple hair was sticking out and his shades were sliding off, probably from walking around with a couple of shopping bags in hand. She and Daren decided to buy whatever necessity Sinbad might need, they’ve never voiced it out but it didn’t look like Sinbad would be leaving soon.

It had been a couple months since Sinbad’s arrival and even if she reminded herself that his stay was temporary, she was already getting used to his presence. Waking up in the morning to him looking like a human sushi roll (Daren had taken the responsibility to wrap him up in blankets every morning), him always saving water for her beforehand, him always gathering their laundry when it would dry, her trying to sleep from his snores, her always tidying up Sinbad’s sketches, her peeking at his journal when he wasn’t around (which was useless really for she couldn’t understand a thing, the written form of his language was pretty though and she admired his calligraphy and small sketches he would make in his entries) him tidying up the house whenever she and Daren went to work and finally, her coming home to a smile as he would always greet them by the door.

She admitted that if Sinbad decided to leave it would get lonely, she wouldn’t force him to stay of course if he decided to leave one day.

“Hazel” Sinbad’s voice snapped her from her thoughts as the eggplant was looking at her with brows furrowed.

“Ok?” he asked, testing the word in his tongue as he looked back at Daren, said man gave Sinbad a thumbs up, letting him know that the choice of words was fine.

“Oh..uh yeah.” She managed to let out before Sinbad handed her an ice cream cone, that’s when she noticed that they were at a park and that they had stopped by an ice cream stand. She accepted the cone with a small thanks, watching the eggplant as he tried on the sweet.

Complete delight was on his face as he licked some more on the frozen treat, Daren let out a laugh, using the opportunity to teach him some more. She watched the exchange with a small smile, finishing her own treat in silence.

Since it was still a bit early in the afternoon and that the park was only a walking distance to the apartment, they decided to relax by a bench first while they were now eating their third cone of ice cream.

“Daren.” The eggplant nudged the redhead, pointing to a patch of daisies, as if asking them what they were.

“Flowers, flah-wurs.” Daren repeated, making sure that Sinbad would get the pronounciation. Sinbad hummed as he tried the new word on his tongue.

Suddenly he grinned, glancing at her then to the flowers.

“What the hell are you planning?” she asked, even though she knew he couldn’t understand, her face said it all.

Suddenly he stood up, walking over to the patch as he plucked some, enough to fill his arms.

“Uhh….Hazel, I’m pretty sure those flowers are off limits…”

But before she could answer, the man was back, gathering the flowers at his lap as he hummed a tune. Both she and Daren watched in interest as Sinbad twisted the flower’s stems to connect with each other until he formed a chain.

“What do you think he’s doing?” Daren asked in awe of Sinbad’s rather precise craftsmanship, how can such big hands work on something so small?

When the chain of flowers reached to a length he liked, he joined the ends together, forming a flower crown.

“Oh wow, a flower crown huh..” she commented just when Sinbad turned to him and placed the crown on her head.

“Eh?”

Sinbad smiled, chuckling a bit as he raised the sides of his lips into a smile then pointed to her.

“I think he’s telling you to cut off being gloomy, seriously you hardly smiled awhile ago.” The redhead scolded, even he had a flower crown placed by Sinbad just a second later.

It was already night, the first few stars beginning to show themselves, Sinbad leaned back on the bench raising his hands to the back of his  head as he looked up at the sky.

“Like…..Ja’far.”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been a while. Since it's summer vacation for me I'd figured to continue this while I still had the time. Leave thoughts and suggestions n the comments!


	5. The things they've lost

“Sphintus, can’t you tell me at least what caused…this?”

“Why are you so curious?” the healer shot back as the finalis flinched. The Heliohaptan could care less of the prince’s reasons for keeping quiet about his condition but as he was his patient, he should at least respect that.

Sphintus stared at the finalis, not liking his strange fascination over his patient. He may not know much about politics but,  there was no reason for Muu to act like this. Kouen may have retired already but even he knew that they had clashed against each other at some point in the past.

The finalis was silent, instead his gaze turned to the unconscious prince. It was dangerous to move Kouen at his condition so it was decided that he would recover in Reim, despite the reluctance of his siblings, Kouen agreed. But that didn’t stop the siblings from visiting or sending various things that the prince might need.

“His sisters would be visiting in two days, until then he needs all the rest that he could get.” Muu of course caught the meaning in his words, Sphintus didn’t know if it could work but thankfully the finalis began to move. Casting one last look at the prince before giving him one more of his cheery smiles.

“Alright, then I’ll be leaving.”

Sphintus stared at the door where the finalis disappeared to. All these years staying at Reim had thought him a lot of things, about people in power. The responsibilities that came with it but at the same time the eternal battle to survive in keeping it.

“Has he left?” he couldn’t miss how raspy the voice had become in the recent days, grabbing a cup of water he headed over to his patient.

“Hmm, you were awake this whole time?”

“..”

He took the silence as a yes, checking the prince for any changes in his condition.

“Can I ask you something?” his lips moved on his own as the prince moved his head to look at him, a thin eyebrow raised.

“Your power………Is it any good to have power at all, is it all worth it?”

Seeing how the world had changed because of Sinbad, a being who had powers way beyond him. Now no one knows where he ended up. He knew of course that having power meant he could protect Titus and Marga and many more, but at the same time what were the risks that came with it?

Looking at how Kouen and many other ended up after the world changed.

“Humans in nature are full of greed, whether it be riches, knowledge, power……..when one knows how to use their powers for what is right then….”the prince hesitated, his look faraway.

“If people knew how to use it for what is right you say…..but don’t we have different perspectives on what is ‘right’?” he remembered the days where Titus had fought his wish to abolish slavery, he remembered the war on Magnoshuttat, he knew good people from opposite sides, fighting for what they think is right.

“That’s why war happens, its simply a way for human to force their beliefs on each other. As for your question, personally if I was able to protect the people I hold dear with my power then…..yes it is all worth it.”

The prince smiled, his wrinkles more prominent than before. It was the first time that the prince had shown emotion in his stoic face, he couldn’t help but remember how powerful and untouchable Kouen looked in his youth. Even at the last battle, donning his djin equip as he joined in the fray.

“What’s with that look?” Kouen spoke up as his thoughts were interrupted by the older man’s voice. 

“I was just wondering, do you really intend to keep hiding ‘it’?”

* * *

She woke up in a cold sweat yet she still managed to hold in her scream, her breathing harsh and ragged. Looking at the time it was still 4 am in the morning, the two males still asleep by the floor. It was the weekend so she didn’t have to worry about work for now, slowly and quietly she headed for the door, putting on her sneakers in the process.

She suppressed a shiver, her sleepwear not suited for the low temperature but she didn’t mind, the cold was an old friend. She decided to take a little jog to the park, just to clear her head.

The park was  of course empty save for one person sitting by one of the benches, she decided not to mind them as they didn’t react to her arrival.

Sitting by one of the swings, the cold metal biting through her thin clothes, she let out a sigh cupping her hands to her head.

It had been quite a while since she’d dreamt about it, possibly half a year since the last time. She thought as an adult it would go away, yet here it was showing itself again.

* * *

 

_It was slaughter._

_Violence everywhere._

_Blood painted the earth and skies._

_It was war._

_And she was part of it. There were no faces, gone as her blade would cut  them down, there were no sounds, they would just claw at her as she passed them over._

_There was one person amidst the chaos, smiling in glee, enjoying the death around her. They were others that tried to approach her, perhaps former allies but with a swing of her blade and wand they all perished, all except one._

_It was the one person she couldn’t beat, in that world or another._

_It was clear what he thought, extermination of the traitors, the ones who’ve caused this senseless war. As her allies were slowly being eradicated by the man’s overwhelming power, he smiled at her._

_She hated that smile, it was the smile of pity and disappointment. Why now? She wonders, when her hands are already soaked in blood, blood of her allies._

_She could feel the pain, every inch of it at her body, penetrating through her mortal flesh. She closed her eyes, the last sigh she saw was the black sun and the woman beneath it._

* * *

 

She evened out her breathing, her hands shaking and her body being cold. She always told herself it was just a dream, no matter how real it felt. Frustration came in the form of tears, she didn’t know why she would always hurt after dreaming about it, yet the feeling of losing something important to her was strong.

It clawed at her, the worst feeling was she didn’t exactly know why and what was making her feel like this, the tears continued to stream down her face as a breeze passed over, immediately making her face exposed to it.

The swing creaked at her movements, a stray leaf landing by her feet. Somehow that calmed her down to some extent as she stepped on the leaf, it’s crunching noise the only thing audible at the silent place. That’s when a pair of boots crossed her line of vision, looking up she was greeted by a smiling face, blonde hair framing it.

“Ah…?” she didn’t know what to say, it may still be dark but those clear blue eyes were visible. To be faced with such a beautiful person, she didn’t know how to act. Raising her hands, she furiously tried to wipe the tears away, she couldn’t stand being seen like this, and by a beautiful person no less.

But smooth gentle hands stopped her, slowly lowering them as the person kneeled, setting her hands to her lap. She couldn’t help but be bewildered, yes she should be suspicious of strangers in parks comforting crying people but with person’s beauty, the idea to run away from him was thrown out of the window.

That’s when she noticed that the flurry of emotions have vanished the moment this person approached her, she didn’t know why but this person had such a gentle aura that it affected her greatly.

“You shouldn’t do that, it’ll hurt your eyes.” It was male, although soft she could feel comfort in that tone.

“We wouldn’t want that now, would we?” he spoke again as she just sat down there and stared, the man rummaged into his pockets until he found a napkin. Handing it to her he held one of her hands as he stood up slowly, gracing her with another smile.

“It took me nine lives to meet you, I’m sorry that I’m late.”

* * *

 

Sinbad stared at the empty spot by the bed, unease filled him. He didn’t know why but he felt like something was going to happen, it had been a long time since he could foretell such things. He was suddenly jolted awake after a dream.

_He dreamed of the war in Alma Torran, except he wasn’t just a spectator. He felt the violence and slaughter, the screams and agony. He witnessed first hand the betrayal of Arba and ‘that’ woman, the death of Queen Sheba and finally the will of Solomon. Seeing a world collapse just right in front of him, suddenly he was at his world, he watched as the country that he worked hard to build, the people he considered as his family, all dead beneath his feet._

_“Isn’t this what you’ve wanted?” Instead of David like he expected to, it was Solomon who showed up. Not just the people he held dear, but everyone was dead, Judar, Kouen, people he’d never considered as allies._

_Solomon would repeat the question all over as he walked around their lifeless bodies, as he walked further, he arrived at the outskirts of Sindria, the tomb of his fallen comrades at the first Sindria. There lay Ja’far surrounded by flowers as pale as him, he didn’t look dead instead he looked like he was just asleep. He leaned down to touch him but was stopped by Solomon, his eyes clearly pitying him._

_“The one thing that you’ve needed…….was just by your side all this time.”_

It all felt so real that when he woke up he was so relieved to see Daren snuggled onto him.

That meant he was still with Hazel, that he could still wake up to her and wait until she came home and then tolerate her scolding. That meant that he get to eat Daren’s amazing food and that he could still learn a lot about their language through the young man.

He couldn’t help but hug Daren a little tighter after that, but as he glanced at the bed, Hazel was nowhere to be found. His heart pounded with worry, his eyes spotting the unlocked door and missing pair of shoes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Helooo!
> 
> So uh, this is just an idea so I'm not sure if this would be even continued. It's my first story ever so expect a lot of errors, but hey! everyone improves over time! Comment out your thoughts!


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